This article takes a look at players from each of the positions in your starting lineup who have interesting matchups. Not all players covered are your classic sleepers who might outperform expectations. Some are nominal starters with tricky matchups or players who might be deep sleepers in smaller leagues, but starters in larger leagues. Realizing that leagues and roster sizes vary wildly; your mileage could vary, too.
Quarterbacks
Ryan Tannehill, Mia at NYJ
Tannehill has earned the QB1 status in 10 and 12 team leagues at this stage with increasingly consistent production with his arm and legs. Jarvis Landry’s emergence gives him a reliable playmaker who can help sustain drives with his sticky hands. The Jets have allowed the most passing touchdowns (27) and have intercepted the fewest passes (3). Every quarterback but Ben Roethlisberger has thrown for two or more touchdowns against them.
Tony Romo, DAL vs. Phi
Romo comes into this week as QB14, but by the end of the season don’t be surprised if he’s easily inside the top 10 with an upcoming schedule that includes the Eagles twice, Bears, Colts and Redskins. The Eagles have allowed the most points to quarterbacks, Chicago the second most, Washington the fourth most and the Colts the third most over the last four weeks. All but one quarterback produced 21 or more points against the Eagles and Romo has 11 touchdowns in his last four games. Volume has been Romo’s biggest problem on a run-first Cowboys team that has been winning.
Matthew Stafford, DET vs. Chi
Stafford enters Week 13 one rung below Romo on the quarterback ladder at QB15 on the heels of a two game skid, but the reality is that Stafford hasn’t been productive for a while with only 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in his last seven games. The good news is that Chicago is visiting for Thanksgiving and they’ve allowed the second most points including a 20 point effort from Josh McCown on Sunday with 341 yards, a TD and two interceptions. Stafford will be fine, if you look past EJ Manuel, Geno Smith, Teddy Bridgewater and McCown, the other seven quarterbacks averaged almost 28 points per game against them and they lost corner Kyle Fuller with a MCL sprain.
Eli Manning, NYG at JAC
Manning may be prone to those five interception outbreaks, but he has also thrown for 280 yards in four straight games and he’s averaging almost 2 touchdowns per game. The Jaguars have been a good matchup for quarterbacks all year and Odell Beckham Jr. is on fire. It’s the high tide rises all boats philosophy. With Beckham red-hot, Manning is bit more palatable as a low end QB1 with a strong chance for multiple touchdowns and 250+ yards as a floor.
Zach Mettenberger, Ten at HOU
Let’s give Mettenberger some credit. The rookie has seven touchdowns in his four starts with only four interceptions while averaging over 270 yards per game. He faces a Texans defense that has allowed plenty of passing yards (2nd most in the league) and the 12th most fantasy points. They give up big plays, but they also make big plays. Mettenberger’s first NFL start came back in Week 8 against the Texans and he managed to throw for 299 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. I wouldn’t be shocked to see a couple big pass plays out of the Titans in this game with Justin Hunter and Nate Washington coming to life a little with Mettenberger behind center.
Running Backs
Latavius Murray, Oak at STL
Murray broke loose last week against a Chiefs defense that hadn’t allowed a touchdown all year to a running back and he scored twice in a matter of minutes. The going won’t get any easier for Murray this week against a good Rams defense that has been playing better of late. Of course, Murray has to be cleared from the league’s concussion protocol, too, but if he does he’ll be in the RB2/flex discussion. We haven’t seen enough of him to implicitly trust him, but what we have seen is confirmation enough that his size and speed are what we thought they were.
Denard Robinson, JAC vs. NYG
Since taking over as the featured back for the Jaguars in Week 7, Robinson has scored the 11th most (PPR) points among running backs while averaging a healthy 4.8 YPA. This week he draws a Giants defense that’s allowed the third most points to backs. Only two backs failed to reach double digits against them and five of the last six rushed for 95 yards or more.
Tre Mason, STL vs. Oak
Like Robinson, Mason has taken over the Rams backfield since Week 7 and in that span he checks in as RB20. He’s not consistently involved in the passing game and scoring just once has limited his upside. That said, he faces an Oakland defense this week that’s allowed the fourth most points. Ryan Matthews, Stevan Ridley and Ben Tate are the only backs who weren’t productive against them. With 175 yards on 45 carries in the last two weeks, Mason is getting warmed up for a potentially busy day with as many as 25 carries and at least 80 to 100 yards as a floor.
Jerick McKinnon, MIN vs. Car
McKinnon’s production has dried up over the last three games but he is solidly on the RB2/flex radar this week against a Panthers defense that has allowed the 9th most points to running backs. Ben Tate and Joe Banyard could be in the mix this week with Matt Asiata injured, but make no mistake about it. McKinnon is the lead dog there and he should see 15 to 20 touches.
Alfred Blue, HOU vs. Ten
A week after running for 156 yards, Blue stumbled against the Bengals finishing with less than 50 yards and under 10 fantasy points. Foster could return this week, but if he’s inactive again, Blue has a shot to put up some numbers against a Titans defense that has allowed four straight 100 yard rushers that have produced 19, 28, 23 and 35 points respectively. The Texans backfield should be a productive one for sure, so have Blue on standby if Foster remains sidelined.
Charles Sims, TB vs. Cin
The Bengals defense has been beaten up and playing hurt all year long so it’s no surprise that their allowing the fifth most points to running backs. Sims took a backseat to Doug Martin on Sunday after having some issues with his ankle late in the week. Sims seems like a good bet for 10 to 15 touches since Martin continues to show nothing with his reps.
Andre Williams, NYG at JAC
Williams is an iffy play simply because it’s hard to know if he’ll get 10 more touches or not. He has scored and handled at least 10 carries in three of his last four, but only one of his last two since Rashad Jennings returned. Both Trent Richardson (10 points) and Dan Herron (9.6 pts) were productive against the Jaguars on Sunday, while Joseph Randle (56 yards, 1 TD) had his most productive game against the Jaguars two weeks ago. It’s hard to count on the Giants playing with a lead in a road game, but the matchup looks favorable statistically as long as Williams gets 10 or more touches.
Wide Receivers
Jarvis Landry, Mia at NYJ
Landry has been a regular in this column over the last month as we’ve watched him ascend from a deep sleeper or what-the-heck flex to WR36 heading into this pivotal week. With four touchdowns and 24 catches over his last four games, Landry has become a reliable WR3/flex in PPR leagues depending on your league size. This week he has a great matchup against the Jets, who’ve allowed the most touchdown passes and the ninth most points to receivers. In their last two games, Robert Woods and Martavis Bryant both went over 100 yards and scored against them.
Martavis Bryant, PIT vs. NO
Bryant finally cooled off before going on the bye last week after scoring in his first four games. This week, he and the Steelers face a Saints defense that has allowed the eighth most points to receivers. Torrey Smith (5-98-0) and Steve Smith (4-89-1) each burned the Saints for big plays on Monday night while A.J. Green and AnquanBoldin scored 20+ points against them in the Saints previous two games.
John Brown, Ari at ATL
Larry Fitzgerald remains out and his status for this week is questionable at best as he enters his second week of recovery following a sprained MCL. Brown will start in Fitzgerald’s place is he is inactive once again. Brown only produced 3-61-0 last week, but it came against a much tougher foe (Seattle) than he’ll face this week (Atlanta). The Falcons have allowed the fourth most points to receivers and last week both Josh Gordon (8-120-0) and Andrew Hawkins (5-93-0) delivered useful numbers against them. Brown’s explosive speed and playmaking ability make him a strong candidate for a breakout this week.
Marques Colston / Kenny Stills, NO at PIT
Going back to the well with these two after they both delivered on Monday night against the Ravens with Brandin Cooks out for the year. The Steelers have allowed the seventh most points over the last five weeks, but they get Cortez Allen, Troy Polamalu and Ryan Shazier back in the lineup coming out of their bye. We’ll see if they make a difference. Colston and Stills are in the WR3 mix and they should continue to see more targets with Cooks out.
Kendall Wright / Justin Hunter, Ten at HOU
The Titans receivers were unable to make much noise in their last game against the Texans even though they’ve allowed the most points in the league to receivers. Justin Hunter caught a touchdown and Nate Washington contributed 4-68-0 while Wright managed 3-53-0. Since then, though, A.J. Green had a career-best game against the Texans, Mohamed Sanu caught a TD along with 5 catches for 48 yards and in the previous game Andrew Hawkins roasted them for 6-97-1 and Taylor Gabriel posted a healthy 5-92-0. The key for both of them has been the play of rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger and his ability to throw the ball downfield. Don’t be surprised if Hunter catches a touchdown for the second week in a row.
Charles Johnson / Greg Jennings, MIN vs. Car
It’s hard to trust any of the Vikings receivers, but Carolina has allowed the sixth most points to receivers. Johnson has put together a pair of productive games in a row as his playing time spiked thanks to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart combined with him taking advantage of his opportunities. Jennings has also strung together a decent run with a touchdown or 76 yards or more in four of his last five games. Both of them have some upside flex appeal.
Terrance Williams, DAL vs. Phi
Williams is a touchdown dependent boom/bust candidate who will be playing this week with a splint on his broken finger suffered last week. The Eagles have allowed the third most points to receivers, though, and eight touchdowns to receivers in their last five games.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz, Phi at DAL
Ertz has been quiet lately and he strained his obliques in Sunday’s game, but he has a superb matchup against Dallas as they’ve allowed more points than anyone else to opposing tight ends. In their last five games, household names like Adrien Robinson, John Carlson and Daniels Fells reeled in touchdowns against them and Ertz was able to practice fully on Wednesday making him a potential top 5 or 10 play this week.
Charles Clay, Mia at NYJ
Clay was sidelined last week after tweaking his knee, but he returned to practice on Wednesday putting him on track to play against a Jets defense that has allowed the fourth most points to tight ends and the most passing TDs in the league.
Eric Ebron, DET vs. Chi
As a metro Detroiter myself, I have virtually no trust in Ebron’s ability to deliver any fantasy value right now, but the Lions are making an effort to get him involved in the offense. He just isn’t catching the ball well. One of the knocks on him in the draft was his inconsistent hands, but the Bears are the second best matchup going for tight ends as they’ve allowed an average of five catches and 65 yards per game with 10 TDs in 11 games. In deeper leagues, Ebron might be worth throwing into your Thanksgiving Day lineup.
Niles Paul, Was at IND
Depending on Jordan Reed’s status (hamstring), Paul could be a decent plug-and-play fill in against a Colts defense that allowed four touchdowns to tight ends over their last three games before shutting down the Jaguars tight ends in Week 12. If Reed is inactive, keep Paul on speed dial as a decent reach in deeper leagues.
Defense/Special Teams
New York Giants at Jacksonville
The Jaguars have been the best matchup for defenses all season long and nothing has changed. They have scored the fewest points, only Oakland has produced less yardage and they’ve given up the most sacks and thrown the most interceptions.
St. Louis vs. Oakland
The Rams defense is firing on all cylinders right now and they expect to get DE Chris Long back in the lineup this week to further boost their pass rush. The Raiders offense could get a spark from Latavius Murray in the backfield but he has to be fully cleared from the concussion protocol first and the Raiders offense remains one of the least productive units in the league.
Houston vs. Tennessee
The Texans held Tennessee to 16 points with two turnovers and two sacks when they played back in Week 8 on the road. At home now, the Texans also have JadeveonClowney back in the lineup and since then the Titans have allowed 10 sacks and 6 turnovers in their last three games along with a couple of touchdown returns.
